Friday, January 8, 2010

Welcome to My Journey

Welcome to my blog. I am thinking that I should begin with a brief explanation of my title choice. I am an artist who is also a J K Rowling (Harry Potter book author) fan. For those who may not have read the series, Harry (her hero) lives with his Aunt and Uncle in a small cupboard under the stairs. (No need to worry, he triumphs in the end!) My claimed space for my first studio is located in a room behind my kitchen and shares 1/2 of its space with a laundry/mudroom. (I'll take some pics in the future) My Dad joked that the space was some what packed to the point of being cramped. I replied that it was a cozy space. But when I have too many projects going on (I've been known to be quiet crafty in an art sense!), I would have to concede to my father's observation!! So with that being said and with a little ingenuity, my son has helped me to carve a little space of my own. I can understandably relate to Rowling's characters humble beginning with his space under the stairs. (Of course, he didn't accumulate so many books and art supplies!) But I keep in mind, first locations can only inspire one to move on to bigger and better things; however, this little piece of heaven will do just fine for now. :)

This blogs timing is perfect for the New Year. Every year, I write in my journal the hopes and goals for the coming months. It definitely is a time to recenter the soul and focus the mind on new challenges. One of these resolutions was to dive into my own blog. I am very excited to say "mission complete". This accomplishment spurs me on to resolution #2 -- build a new portfolio of art work. By blogging my updates, I know it will create an environment for me to push myself to complete work in a timely matter. It is easy to become distracted when working out of one's home. I hope to be able to keep myself honest. Especially with the phone ringing and a cat who seems to think she is the center of my universe!

The first work that I am creating is of a baby opossum. They fascinate me when our old apple tree lures them into a late summer night visit. Usually, we can observe three or four long tailed visitors munching on spoilt apples that have fallen to the ground. They look like little old chubby gentlemen waddling around the yard. I found this photo last year of a baby opossum that took my breath away. He looked amazing. A perfect gift to make for myself!! I know my skills are very rusty, but I look forward to the first challenge and welcome any comments. This first picture of my work is the graph of my little critter. Years ago, I would have graphed directly on the paper, but after reading some pointers out of Ann Kullberg's book "Colored Pencil Portraits", I think I will hand draw his graphed likeness onto tracing paper with an enlarged (reusable) Bristol board graph. I hope (by transferring his likeness using a window as a light box) this will help to keep my Bristol as clean as possible with little erasing. I have only done one drawing on Bristol board in my life and am a little nervous about the bright white appearance. I honestly had forgotten the unbelievable electricity one feels when putting the lines down on the beginning of a new piece of art work!!

1 comment:

Welome to the blogosphere, Brenda!! No doubt you'll find much support and many friends out here as you pursue your journey back into the art world. Bravo to you for beginning - that's the hardest part!!

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If you would like to ask any questions about my work or drop a friendly line, I can be contacted at sketchesfromtcuts (at) hotmail.com . (Just replace (at) with the @ symbol.) I would be happy to hear from you!